


Back to You

by rivlee



Series: Gone Are All The Days [16]
Category: The Pacific (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-28
Updated: 2015-02-28
Packaged: 2018-03-15 17:03:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3454973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rivlee/pseuds/rivlee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Andy and Eddie's first date after their reunion.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Back to You

**Author's Note:**

> Immediately follows "Directions Home."

Eddie hadn’t exactly packed his Sunday’s best when he left for his extended road trip. Normally it wouldn’t be a bother to him; he found his soul saved in all types of places and he never had much time for church outside of the choir. He had no need for a suit and tie now that he’d left the dress uniform days of the Corps behind. He’d only recently run into the problem of a wardrobe full only of t-shirts, plaid button-ups, and worn jeans. He wanted to look nice tonight.

It wasn’t often you get a second first date with the same person. Granted his first first date with Andy wasn’t what anyone would describe as normal. They’d had to make a detour before dinner to get somebody’s truck out of a ditch and after they both got covered in mud they’d settled for McDonald’s shared in the flatbed of Eddie’s truck. He knew Andy wouldn’t care if Eddie showed up tonight in his raggedy clothes, but he wanted to make an extra effort. He wanted Andy to know and see that all this mattered to him. That first first date led to a second because they already knew each other and had spent over a year in each other’s pockets, getting to know each other in between meeting and training, trading bits of history and stories over the long hours. Now they had the yawning gap of four years between them and the oddest feeling as familiar strangers.

It was a difficult thing to sit back and wonder if the person you once shared a whole life with still had the same quirks; it was even more difficult to see the things that, once normal, were now gone. He still wasn’t used to seeing Andy with that hint of stubble on his face and the longer hair; anything but clean-shaven and a high-and-tight haircut used to be for the rare times they were far from Oceanside. Andy drank tea more often these days than coffee and had switched his favorite beer from standard Bud to some craft kind Eddie had never heard of until now. He’d taken a liking to Johnny Cash, and Eddie knew he’d only known one or two of his songs before the end of their relationship.

It’d been a gradual process, this sliding back into each other’s lives. They’d had a ton of small conversations on the phone, the words sometimes getting awkward when shared stories stumbled over old memories. The awkwardness was new; that wasn’t even present when they were still sizing each other up back at Lejeune. They’d talked in person too; both taking part in group events. The boys at Eddie’s new home had suddenly started a calendar of events as they got closer to Halloween. He hadn’t spent any significant time alone with Andy yet though, not until tonight. He wasn’t afraid to admit he was nervous. 

“We can take you to the store,” Snaf said. He leaned against the door jamb of Eddie’s room and looked at the mess of clothes laid out on the bed. “Just go and get you something simple and new. I’ll even drive you to the nice store so as to keep you from the Wal-Mart.”

“Yeah,” Eddie said. “I just…” He ran a hand through his hair and cursed at himself. “I don’t want to seem like I’m trying too hard. I _do_ want him to know it all matters to me though. I want him to see that I care. ”

“It’s just a shirt, Hillbilly,” Snaf said. “Pretty sure we could send you out in a trash bag and Ack-Ack would see you as a prince. Besides you’re Hillbilly. You’re good enough as you is.”

Eddie rested his back against the headboard and nodded at Snaf’s words. “Thanks, Shelton. Old bones like mine still don’t have it figured out. Never will I suppose, even if I do feel too old for this shit.”

Snaf squinted at him and shook his head after a moment. “Don’t know why you’re so worried. You both still love each other.”

“Yeah, but the difference between _love_ and _in love_ still exists. We need to learn each other again. We’ve never known what it was like to be together without the Corps and Don’t Ask Don’t Tell looming over us. Hell, we might not even fit again without all that around us, you know?”

And there it was, one of Eddie’s deepest fears out in the open. He’d always worried about what he had to offer some middle-class college boy who grew-up never having to know what it was like to go hungry so the younger kids could eat. Andy never had to be frugal, not that he was an extravagant man to start with, but there was a difference when you were raised economically safe and when you knew poverty. Eddie wasn’t ashamed of who he was or where he came from, he was damn proud of his whole family and everything they’d accomplished and would in the future. That didn’t mean he hadn’t felt out of place every time Andy’s college buddies had dropped by or his father started talking to Eddie about one day going to college himself, as if his lack of higher education was a stain on the Haldane name. 

“That’s a heap of bullshit,” Snaf said. “Sure all that was something you had in common, but you don’t risk what you two did—not only for DADT, but fraternization and crossing the officer-enlisted line—for an itch and a fuck. You two, you’re more than what you were. And if you don’t think Ack-Ack isn’t fucking proud of you, Hillbilly, I don’t know what to tell you. I heard him shoot the shit with other officers. He always bragged about having the best Gunny in the whole goddamned Corps, and the best man at his back. You really think he gives a fuck about anything else other than you being you?”

“I don’t know, Snaf,” he admitted. 

Snaf rolled his eyes. “Come on. Get your ass up and let’s go get you that shirt. Maybe the fresh air will knock some sense back into your bony ass.”

Eddie snorted. “Who you calling bony, Shelton?”

“You, Gunny,” Snaf said without a trace of remorse. “Let’s go. Lord knows how long you’ll be picking out your fancy clothes. Wouldn’t want you to be late for your date and I done promised Gene-Baptiste I wouldn’t get pulled over for another speeding ticket this year.”

**********

“I still can’t believe you found him in Nowhere, Louisiana of all places.”

Andy picked up his phone from where he’d dropped in on the bedside table and switched it speaker, letting Vera Keller’s voice fill his room. 

“I know,” he said. Weeks later he still couldn’t believe it either. He was grateful and surprised and excited still. There wasn’t a trace of hatred in Eddie when he spoke to Andy, though he knew they both had their fair share of scars and hurt from the time apart.

“So, what’ve you planned for tonight? Old Elmo’s pretty invested in this date of yours,” Vera said.

He smiled at the tease in her voice. Vera worked in the legal department of NCIS and had a tight connection with Elmo’s main team. They’d only met in person once, due to her asking who she could use as a character witness for Elmo just in case, but they’d formed a tight friendship. Her ex-husband was a Marine and she understood the difficult adjustments of coming home and settling into civilian life. 

“I just want something simple,” he said. “There’s really nowhere to go around here that’s not occupied by people he knows. The best bar in three towns has one of his roommates for their main barman. It’s a school night so we can’t drive into one of the major cities.”

“You’re cooking aren’t you,” Vera said. “A dinner date at home. Not moving too fast there, Haldane?”

“Shut up,” he said as he finally settled on a shirt. Eddie had always liked him in blue. “Every _date_ we had in the past was either pre-empted by trying to solve someone else’s personal disaster or in a group type setting where no one could assume we were on a date. This is different.”

“Just don’t give him food poisoning,” Vera said. She muttered something and Andy heard a sharp _bang_ on her end of the line.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, just some asshole reporter trying to get an interview for his conspiracy rag. I’d destroy him in legal terms, but my ex works for him and I kind of need Bob to have something to occupy himself.”

“You don’t have to destroy him legally; you could just make it slightly more difficult,” he said.

Vera sighed. “He’d sic Ray Person on me and then there would be no rest. Don’t worry. Webster will get his one day. He’s useful when we need to threaten some corrupt asshole with exposure. I should go anyway. I have a backlog to work through that would make you cry.”

“Good luck,” he said. “And thanks, Vera, for listening.”

“Same to you, Andy,” she said. 

He dropped his phone on the bed and looked at his final outfit decision. It’d do. It wasn’t too much like what he wore in his classroom and nicer than his casual clothes. Now he just had to clean. And cook. And not rip his hair out as he waited out the next two hours and not freak out over Eddie bailing on their date for a better offer.

**********

Eddie laughed as he got into his car. Babe and Snaf were on the porch fighting over who took the better picture to send to Eddie’s cousin Kitty and Ralph was rolling his eyes at them both. He just hoped none of them woke the doc up.

He put on Dolly Parton as he drove towards St. Cecilia. She’d been on his mind ever since he talked to Kitty that afternoon. She’s always been his confidant about Andy; sometimes it was just easier to talk to her than anyone else in their family. 

Andy’s house was smaller than Eddie expected, at least from the outside. It looked cozy. There were wind chimes on the small porch and a Red Sox welcome mat.

“You can take the boy out of New England,” he said to himself. 

There were three different sized pumpkins by the door, none of them carved, and Eddie wondered if Andy would do anything else for Halloween. He used to go all out for the holiday, eagerly recounting the stories from his childhood about the kids on his block and all the shit they pulled on Mischief Night. Eddie loved those stories and how the telling of them had always relaxed Andy, no matter if they were stuck in a Humvee in the assend of nowhere or holed up in the corner of a bar while their boys bet their paychecks away.

Eddie ran a hand over his shirt and jeans in case anything had gotten creased on the drive over. He knew that with the humidity his hair was a hopeless cause. His right hand shook when he held it up to knock. He closed his eyes, shook his head, and took a deep breath. He was ready. The door opened before he could knock.

Eddie laughed. “Were you standing at the door?”

Andy smiled in response. “Well, so were you.”

He looked good. His shirt was that shade of blue Eddie had always loved. His cologne was crisp and citrusy, and Eddie could see the slight hint of nerves in the way Andy flexed his fingers on the door. It was nice to know Eddie wasn’t the only one a little shaky tonight. 

“Come on in,” Andy said. 

The house was decorated in warm colors. It had a classic feel to it; much more homey than his condo in Boston. It was sparser than Eddie expected, but Andy was much like him in the sense that he always traveled light. 

“It’s a nice place,” Eddie said.

“Not as interesting as where you’re staying,” Andy admitted. “I like it, though. I’ll always love my cabin the most. This place though, it feels right.” He gestured to the couch and they both sat down. “Dinner should be ready in another twenty minutes. It’s my mother’s meatloaf recipe.”

Eddie’s mouth watered at the mere mention. Mrs. Haldane’s recipe was the best he’d ever tasted in his life, no matter if she or Andy made it. He never was able to get the secret out of them. He’d dreamed about that meatloaf on a time or two when eating a shitty dinner on the road in some no name dinner that thought the solution to dry food meant a bucket of gravy. 

“You sure know how to treat a man,” Eddie said.

Andy shrugged as if it was nothing. They knew it was something more.

“You want anything to drink? I’m fully stocked from water to the hard stuff.”

“Let’s start off with water,” Eddie said. “Save the good stuff for dinner.”

*********

The house was filled with the hum of the dishwasher and Andy was relaxed into his couch as he watched Eddie flip through the channels for some background noise. He eventually settled on some National Geographic special about space.

“So you actually built that cabin in Maine,” Eddie said as he leaned back.

They’d stuck with the safe talk over dinner. Compliments passed about their respective clothes and Eddie was full of praise for the food. They shared stories about how all the K Company boys and their families were doing. Now it was time for the things they’d avoided talking about until today. Andy knew it would probably happen tonight, but he was still a little surprised that Eddie didn’t ease into it like he would’ve years ago. It was a stark reminder of the years between them. 

“It was something to do,” Andy said. He laughed to himself. “I needed something after I got out. I couldn’t just go into the corporate field, even if I did have the offers.”

“I thought you would’ve stayed in the Corps for life,” Eddie said. His fingers tapped against his glass. “Never thought you’d get out.”

“I couldn’t stay,” Andy admitted. “I was _done_ before that last deployment, I just hadn’t realized it yet. And besides, I lost my best Gunny.”

“You would’ve been fine,” Eddie said.

“I really wouldn’t have been; I really wasn’t for the last time in the shit,” Andy said. He looked up from his beer to meet Eddie’s eyes. “That’s not on you, Eddie, so don’t even start to apologize. I wasn’t fine for a hell of a lot of reasons. Then they gave me a Gunny I couldn’t trust and it seemed like they’d lost their faith in me.”

“Who?” Eddie asked. 

He had that quiet fury in his voice Andy knew far too well and he worried about giving Eddie the name. No one outside of the two of them really knew why it the asshole’s name meant so much. He didn’t want the man’s name to taint his house or what they had here.

“The asshole who tried to get us both,” Andy said. “ _He_ eventually got the dishonorable. I may have asked for a few favors on my way out.”

“Good,” Eddie said. He still looked furious, though most would mistake his casual sprawl for relaxed. Andy saw that tight grip on his glass and knew Eddie’s angry body language.

“How’s the family?” he asked. He would ask anything to get Eddie smiling again.

“They’re swell,” Eddie said.

Andy shook his head. “Come on, give me more than that. I didn’t spend all that time memorizing their names for nothing.”

“You probably can’t even recite them now,” Eddie said.

Andy leaned forward. “That a challenge, Jones?”

Eddie shuffled closer into his space. “You bet your ass, Haldane. I’ll even be nice and say you only have to name the siblings. No spouses or children required.”

That was fair since Andy had no clue who might’ve divorced or married or been born in the past few years, but he hadn’t learned all those names for nothing. 

“Samuel Jones, twin brother of Shelia, and your father, who married Sharon Allison Lipton. First daughter and eldest child is Angela Joelle, who only answers to Angie Jo or Ange if she likes you enough. Next came Edward Allison who would spend a good portion of his life being called Hillbilly due to his penchant for country songs. The twins followed in Bobby, born Robert Raymond who will punch you if you call him Bobby Ray. Christopher Joshua came with him. Good ol’ Timmy was next; Timothy Anthony who acts and sounds like he belongs more in my family than yours.”

“We let him go up north too often,” Eddie said. He gestured for Andy to continue.

“Kimmy came next, born Delia Kimberly and forever cursing her birth name. Taby Cat was next.”

“She _will_ kill you,” Eddie said.

“Nah, Tabitha Caitlin and I always got along. Sweet Caroline Maryann followed. Cody Joseph is the last of the boys. Allison Marie is the baby of them all.”

“Perfect score,” Eddie said. “I shouldn’t be surprised, Mr. Ivy League.”

“You shouldn’t.”

“I’m not,” Eddie said. “Allison got into Berklee. Tabby is doing some science shit I don’t understand one bit of, but she’s happy. Carrie and Chris are making the music festival rounds. They’re working as a duet right now. Kim got married.”

“No shit?”

“Yeah. Some uptight accountant. He loves her though, and even more he respects her. Tim’s at home with mom, helping her at the house and running the store with Bobby.”

“And Cody?”

Eddie grimaced. “Joined the Rangers.”

“Seriously?”

Eddie nodded. “He decided he wanted to be a sniper in the Army, and there was nothing I could say to stop him. It was his choice.”

“Give me a unit and I’ll get some extra eyes on him. A few of the brass still owe me favors,” Andy said. He shook his head in disbelief. “That stupid kid. I feel like I should apologize to your mother. Maybe I talked too much about the service.”

“Ain’t on you or me, Andy,” Eddie said. He put his glass down on the coffee table. “He wouldn’t listen to me, or Haney, or Carwood. Hell, Ron Speirs called up an actual Ranger who now works for the U.S. Marshals and tried to talk him out of it. The kid wouldn’t hear it. So momma just prays a little harder each night and thanks all the angels in heaven when he comes home alive.”

“The kid should only be worrying about how he’s going to spend his weekend,” Andy said. 

He remembered Cody as a gangly boy with shaggy blond hair and freckles from too much time out in the sun. He didn’t want to think of him with a shaved head in desert camo, rifle in his hand, and losing part of himself bit by bit as he followed bullshit orders handed down from the higher-ups.

Eddie’s hands were a familiar, comforting weight where they covered Andy’s own. “It’ll be okay.”

Andy could’ve laughed if it wasn’t so sad. “Pretty sure I’m supposed to tell you that.”

Eddie’s smile was small, but gracious. “Screw normal. It never was meant for us.” 

“Can’t say it was,” Andy agreed. 

Eddie sat back and downed the rest of his drink. “I should hit the road. You’ve got young minds to influence tomorrow and I’ve got a ceiling to paint.”

“You okay to drive?” Andy asked as they both stood. 

“I am,” Eddie promised. “Thanks for the dinner. We should do it again soon. I’m cooking a couple pot roasts for the boys on Saturday. You should come to dinner.”

“I’ll definitely be there,” Andy said. 

He walked Eddie to the door and drank in the graceful movement of Eddie’s arms as he pulled his jacket on. Andy knew he had to say something, had to make it clear.

“Eddie,” he said just as he opened the door.

“Yeah?” Eddie asked as he fumbled with his keys.

“The important stuff to me, about us? That hasn’t changed at all,” he said. 

Eddie closed his eyes, a blissful smile on his face, and laughed softly before he opened them again. “Same here,” he finally said.

“Good,” Andy said. Over thirty years old, closer to forty, and he suddenly didn’t know what to do with his hands. “Drive safe, yeah?”

“Andy,” Eddie said, suddenly in Andy’s space.

“Yes?” Andy asked. 

Eddie was close, so close, those familiar lips almost on Andy’s neck. Andy closed his eyes as he felt the drag of Eddie’s stubble over his own.

“I really like that cologne of yours,” Eddie whispered in his ear before sliding away. “Sweet dreams, Haldane.”

“You’re a little shit, Jones,” he yelled after him.

Eddie just waved at him as he got into a truck. 

Andy stood at his door and watched until his taillights faded into the distance.


End file.
